Fuel charger for an internal combustion engine



March 12, 1963 T. BARNES ETAL 3,08 ,07

FUEL CHARGER FOR AN INTERMAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Original Filed Aug. 51, 1959 United States Patent 3,081,071 FUEL CHARGER FOR AN INTERNAL COM- BUSTION ENGINE Llewellyn T. Barnes and Charles T. Barnes, both of 155 Atlantic Ave., Freeport, N.Y.

Original application Aug. 31, 1959, Ser. No. 837,228, now Patent No. 3,033,181, dated May 8, 1962. Divided and this application May 11, 1960', Ser. No. 36,106

2 Claims. (Cl. 261-30) bustion engine by providing means connected to the main drive shaft of the engine for compressing air and then forcing the air through a puddle of fuel to force a mist of compressed air and fuel into a cylinder of the engine.

The construction of this invention features the use of a chamber having a bottom portion and having a peripheral outlet above the bottom portion. Air is compressed and forced downwardly and centrally into the chamber and into the puddle to force a mist of fuel and compressed air into the combustion cylinder of the engine.

Other objects and features of the invention reside in the provision of a fuel charger that is drivingly connected in a single manner to the main drive shaft of the engine, which fuel charger has its own cylinder and piston for compressing air, and which is efiicient in use.

These, together with other objects and features which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this fuel charger, a preferred embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, way of example only, wherein: a

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through an intern combustion engine employing the concepts of the present 7 invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are transverse sectional views illustrating the piston and main drive shaft of the engine in diiferent positions, and illustrating the relationship of the fuel charger thereto, certain parts shown in each figure being 7 omitted in the other; and,

FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views of parts of the invention.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawing wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, reference numeral 100 is used to designate an internal combustion engine having a cylinder :10, piston 15, crank shaft 17 and operating elements coupling the reciprocating piston 15 to the crank shaft 17.

The cylinder 10 has a set of ports 23 and a fuel-air vapor mixture or mist is supplied to inlet port 23 from the fuel charger 9 comprising the present invention. This charger 9 includes operating piston 32 which is coupled to crank shaft 17 in such a way as to reciprocate in the opposite direction to the main piston 15. Piston 32 moves in cylinder 33 having cooling fins 33a. In other words, during a downward or power stroke of piston 15, piston 32 is moved upwardly in a compression stroke. During an upward or compression stroke of piston '15, piston 32 is moved in a downward stroke. During the down or intake stroke of piston 32, air enters the top of cylinder 33 via throttle 11 and associated parts.

During the upward or compression stroke of piston 32, air under pressure is forced through the tube 36 and a porous unit 39 with air holes 39a and into surrounding mixing chamber 38. The mixing chamber 38 receives a continuous charge of liquid fuel from a fuel pump 44 (FIG. 2) delivered into a puddle in chamber 38. The unit 39 is porous to air but substantially impervious to liquid.

The charge of air under pressure vaporizes a portion of the fuel in the puddle in chamber 38, to form a saturated fuel vapor-air mixture, and the resulting ignition mixture is fed through pipe 40 to inlet port 23. This mixture is diluted with air from inlet ports 24a, which is received from crank case chamber 16a.

The charge in the main cylinder )10 is compressed by upwardly moving main piston 15, and resets at the end of the upward stroke of the piston, without electric ignition. This starts the power stroke of piston 15.

A gear 27 is mounted on main crank shaft 17. This meshes with an equal gear 28 on auxiliary crank shaft 29. This auxiliary crank shaft 29 has the usual check 30, and connecting rod 31 is mounted in the usual way on crank shaft 29. This onnecting rod 31 extends up into the compressor cylinder33 and is connected by pin 31a, in the usual manner, to compressor piston 32. Accordingly, piston 32 can slide up and down in the bore of compressor cylinder 33. Compressor cylinder 33 has external air cooling fins 33a.

The cylinder head 33b has an air compression chamber 330 which connects by passage 34d to the top of the internal space of cylinder 33.

Air compression chamber 33c extends to the top of head 33b, and its upper portion receives a valve housing 35a which contains one-Way air inlet check valve 35. This inlet valve 35 is adapted to receive air from throttle 1.1 in a manner which will be described below. Head 33b also has a discharge air chamber 36 which connect-s at its bottom with an annular passage 36a. This annular passage 36a connects at its lower end with the top of the internal space of cylinder 33 and is adapted .to be closed at its upper end by valve plate 37a. This plate 37a is biased to closing position by means of coil spring 3712.

It will be apparent that air is admit-ted through valve 35- and inlet chamber 330 to the cylinder 33 during the downward stroke of piston 32. During the upward stroke. of piston 32, the air in cylinder 33 and chamber 33c is compressed until the pressure is suflicient to overcome the force of spring 37b, at which point air is discharged into the chamber 36. i

The chamber 36 and the portion of the head in, which it is located is off-set with respect to cylinder 33, and the head has an off-set bottom port 36b which communicates Wit-l1 chamber 36. A generally rectangular housing 38a, which is open at its upper end, is fixed to head 33b in such away that the inner space of housing 38a communicates with port 36b. A diifuser tube 39a forming the porous unit 39 is set into housing 38a. tube 39a is shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The tube 39a is of generally rectangular shape and has an enlarged head 39b which is seated in the housing 38a in the manner shown in FIG. 1 and held in place by head 33b. Diffuser tube 39a has two cylindrical bores 39c and has holes 39s in its bottom wall, respectively communicating with said bores 39c. Diffuser tube '39, is made of sintered bronze and has a peripheral wall which is porous to air but impervious to liquid. The external surface of tube 39a is preferably spaced from the internal Wall of housing 38a.

Housing 38a has a transverse discharge port 39d intermediate the ends thereof. Pipe 40 is secured in com- Patented Mar. 12, 1963 munication with port 39d by any suitable means. Pipe 40 extends into the central opening of boss 26 which abuts housing 38a, and into port 23. The bottom of the internal space of housing 38a is designated by the reference numeral 3 8 and is slightly enlarged and concave and is hereinafter designated as the puddle chamber.

Said puddle chamber receives air through ports 39. In addition, said chamber 3 8 receives fuel, which may be gasoline, or light oil, or any other suitable fuel.

The fuel may be supplied by any suitable fuel pump, such as fuel pump 44 shown in FIG. 2. Said fuel pump 44 is conventional and is not described in detail. It has in inlet 44a and an outlet 44b. The outlet 44b is connected by any suitable means (not shown) to the interior of housing 38a.

Throttle 11 is mounted upon the casing 35a for valve 35, by means of union 11a. Throttle 11 serves to control the air intake of charger 9, as well as the air intake of the master cylinder 10.

The housing of throttle 11 has an intake 34 which is adapted to be connected through pipe 13 and any suitable air cleaner (not shown) to the outside atmosphere. The casing of throttle 11 also has an air outlet 11-31) which is connected by pipe 13 to boss 1311 on main cylinder and hence through ports 12 to the interior of main cylinder 10 and hence to the crank case. It will be understood, of course, that ports 12 are blocked by piston 15 except when main piston 15 is in its upward position.

The casing of throttle 1.1 has a top bore 11b of cylindrical shape which receives the throttle assembly. The throttle assembly includes a cylindrical member 80 having a bottom wall 80a formed with a central aperture 80b and -a plurality of ports 800 of varying diameter. Member 80 is turnable within housing bore 11b. The throttle also includes a further cylindrical member 81 which fits turnably within recess 11b and which has a top wall 81a. A central shaft 82 extends turnably through an opening in the top wall 81a and also through opening 8% and below wall 80a. Below the top wall of the casing of throttle 11, a spring 83 and washer 84 are fixed in place on shaft 82 by cotter pin 85. By means of key 82a and the usual key slot (not shown), shaft 32 is keyed to bottom Wall 80a. The upper portion 81b of wall 81a is square and receives throttle lever 86 by extending through a square opening thereof. Shaft 82 has a square key member portion '87 above lever '86 and separated therefrom by washer 88. Auxiliary throttle lever 89 is fixed upon key member 8 7.

The ports 80c of member 80 are adapted to register or not, as the case may be, with corresponding ports 82c of varying diameters in the top wall of the casing of throttle 11. Accordingly, the registration of ports 80c and 82c may be varied and hence the flow of air to valve 35 is varied.

When lever 86 is turned, member 81 is turned. Member 81 has ports 81b which register fully with the chambers of members 34 in one position of member 81, and

which are completely out of registration therewith in another turned position of member 81. From this, it will become apparent that lever 86 controls air flow to the main crank case and another lever not shown controls air fiow to the charger. This other lever 89, therefore, controls the richness of the fuel air mixture fed through ports 23 and 24a to the master cylinder, and lever 86 controls the main flow of air to the chamber.

The lever 86 can control the speed of the engine for varying mixture ratios of the fuel, and the richness of the fuel can be adjusted to the optimum ratio for any given setting of the main throttle 11.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

What is claimed is:

l. A fuel charger for an internal combustion engine having a combustion cylinder and a piston reciprocating therein comprising a compressor cylinder, a compressor piston reciprocating in said compressor cylinder, gear means interconnecting the piston in said combustion cylinder with said compressor piston so that during the expansion stroke of said piston in said combustion cylinder said compressor piston is moved in its compression stroke, a chamber having a bottom portion and having a peripheral outlet above said bottom portion, means for continuously maintaining a puddle of liquid fuel in said chamber bottom portion, a tube mounted in said chamber spaced from the bottom and from the periphery of said chamber and extending to the top thereof, said tube hav ing a bottom opening and being connected to said compressor cylinder, said compressor piston forcing air under compression during said compression stroke into said tube and through the bottom opening thereof and into said puddle so that a mist of fuel with said air is forced through said outlet and into said combustion cylinder, first valve means for permitting fiow of air into said compressor cylinder during the expansion stroke of said compressor piston, and second valve means for controlling flow of air from said compressor cylinder into said tube and permitting fiow of air only during said compression stroke when the pressure of the air in said compressor cylinder has exceeded a predetermined amount.

2. Fuel charger according to claim 1, the periphery of said tube being porous to air but substantially impervious to passage of said liquid fuel therethrough.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 57,738 Lipps Sept. 4, 1866 59,446 Pease Nov. 6, 1866 1,026,889 Walker May 21, 1912 2,634,028 Brown Apr. 7, 1953 

1. A FUEL CHARGER FOR AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE HAVING A COMBUSTION CYLINDER AND A PISTON RECIPROCATING THEREIN COMPRISING A COMPRESSOR CYLINDER, A COMPRESSOR PISTON RECIPROCATING IN SAID COMPRESSOR CYLINDER, GEAR MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE PISTON IN SAID COMBUSTION CYLINDER WITH SAID COMPRESSOR PISTON SO THAT DURING THE EXPANSION STROKE OF SAID PISTON IN SAID COMBUSTION CYLINDER SAID COMPRESSOR PISTON IS MOVED IN ITS COMPRESSION STROKE, A CHAMBER HAVING A BOTTOM PORTION AND HAVING A PERIPHERAL OUTLET ABOVE SAID BOTTOM PORTION, MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY MAINTAINING A PUDDLE OF LIQUID FUEL IN SAID CHAMBER BOTTOM PORTION, A TUBE MOUNTED IN SAID CHAMBER SPACED FROM THE BOTTOM AND FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID CHAMBER AND EXTENDING TO THE TOP THEREOF, SAID TUBE HAVING A BOTTOM OPENING AND BEING CONNECTED TO SAID COMPRESSOR CYLINDER, SAID COMPRESSOR PISTON FORCING AIR UNDER COMPRESSION DURING SAID COMPRESSION STROKE INTO SAID TUBE AND THROUGH THE BOTTOM OPENING THEREOF AND INTO SAID PUDDLE SO THAT A MIST OF FUEL WITH SAID AIR IS FORCED THROUGH SAID OUTLET AND INTO SAID COMBUSTION CYLINDER, FIRST VALVE MEANS FOR PERMITTING FLOW OF AIR INTO SAID COMPRESSOR CYLINDER DURING THE EXPANSION STROKE OF SAID COMPRESSOR PISTON, AND SECOND VALVE MEANS FOR CONTROLLING FLOW OF AIR FROM SAID COMPRESSOR CYLINDER INTO SAID TUBE AND PERMITTING FLOW OF AIR ONLY DURING SAID COMPRESSION STROKE WHEN THE PRESSURE OF THE AIR IN SAID COMPRESSOR CYLINDER HAS EXCEEDED A PREDETERMINED AMOUNT. 